Blurb: This is the story of a serial killer. A stolen child. Revenge. Death. And an ordinary house at the end of an ordinary street.
All these things are true. And yet they are all lies...
You think you know what's inside the last house on Needless Street. You think you've read this story before. That's where you're wrong.
In the dark forest at the end of Needless Street, lies something buried. But it's not what you think...
Review: The woman searching for her sister's killer, the man who knows the truth, and his cat chosen by God to protect him. The rundown house on the end of Needless Street is not what it seems and neither is this story.
This book is a horror mystery, but it is so much more. It's an incredible read. I don't know how to describe it without giving spoilers. The book begins with three narrators. First, Dee Dee is the sister of a missing-and presumed murdered-girl. Dee Dee was a teen when it happened and her sister was just six. Dee Dee isn't likable. She has my sympathy, but after her life falls apart, she becomes frighteningly obsessed with finding the killer. She feels the police aren't doing enough, and even after eleven years, she's still trying to hunt down the killer. She thinks she has finally found him in Ted. Ted is a troubled man with a dark past. Troubled is an understatement! His narrative is child-like and disjointed. He's not at all likable, even more so than Dee Dee. He was horribly abused by his mother, and now he has a daughter of his own, he is trying unsuccessfully (and frighteningly so!) to be a good father. Ted is hiding secrets, and sometimes he's not even certain what they are. Finally we have Olivia the cat. In some ways, she's a normal indoor cat, but her narrative is strange. It's not at all feline, but still primal in ways. She believes she has been chosen by the Lord to protect Ted, and it was her I wondered the most about.
There's not one twist to the story but several slow unravelings. I started the book not really liking any of the characters but the mystery pulled me along. Once things were laid bare at the end, it was stunning. It was brilliant. While the events and memories are dark and gritty and wreck your nerves, it is a psychological journey like none other. It is another one of those books that breaks the "writing rules."